Losing A Client

Losing a client can be a difficult experience and depending on how involved you are with the client, this can even be a devastating occurrence. There are a couple things you must realize; the first is that you start losing a client the moment you get him according to Jay Chiat, advertising legend, and the second is that everything is a learning experience.

The first statement sounds a bit pessimistic but unfortunately it is true. Every relationship has it's up's and down's and unfortunately in business there's no couple's counseling to fix damaged relationships. In some cases if you catch the problem before the business relationship reaches the point of no return you have a good chance of holding on to the client but often once things go sour they go sour for good. The reason for these changes in mindset can vary from personal feelings to missed deadlines to poor communication. From a consultants point of view the best thing to do is to analyze where and why the relationship went bad, and try to prevent it from happening with other clients. If you can, have a candid conversation with the client and ask why they choose to go with someone else. If this isn't possible, a questionnaire be preferable to reveal what was lacking in the relationship.

The second statement is self-explanatory and ties into the first. Everything is a learning experience, do your best to investigate what went wrong, and try to objectively look at the situation. Thoroughly evaluate your shortcomings, if any, as well as the client's and do your best to not only improve future business relationships, and yourself as well. Maybe you lost the client because you were too busy working with another client, or you simply overlooked things you shouldn't have. It's also quite possible you didn't do anything wrong at all, maybe your rates were too high or your competitions rates were invitingly low. Do your best to look at everything with an objective eye.

Last, but definitely not least, do not take it personally. I repeat do not take it personally! I've read countless stories about system administrators and business executives sabotaging businesses and stealing information because they were let go which ultimately only caused more harm to them than good. Business is business, and regardless of the relationships that have been forged or damaged during the partnership, remember you are a professional and nothing should tarnish that image which you have taken so long to build.